Present Perfect Tense PowerPoint Lesson

This PowerPoint lesson is designed to introduce the present perfect tense to English language learners. It explains what the present perfect tense is, how to form it, and includes many example sentences to help students understand. There’s also a short review quiz at the end to test students’ understanding of the lesson. For more teaching ideas about this topic, check out our guide on How to Teach the Present Perfect Tense.

How to Use This Present Perfect PowerPoint in Class

Before teaching the present perfect tense, it’s a good idea to review the past simple. Students often confuse the past simple and the present perfect, and I find reviewing the past simple at the start of the lesson and showing how it differs from the present perfect helps to prevent a lot of errors later on. A simple way to review the past simple is to ask students what they did yesterday or at the weekend. You can then explain that the past simple is used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past (yesterday, at the weekend, last week, etc.).

Next, start the presentation and explain that they will learn a new way to talk about the past. Use the first slide to explain that the present perfect tense is used to talk about past experiences or actions without saying exactly when they happened. Use the examples on the slides to help students understand this idea. For example, show the sentences “I have been to London.” and “I have eaten sushi.” and highlight how these sentences describe past experiences but don’t mention exactly when they happened. I find it helpful to ask students questions in the present perfect, such as “Have you been to London?” and “Have you eaten sushi?” This gets students thinking about their own past experiences, which I find helps them understand when and why we use the present perfect.

Once students have a grasp of what the present perfect tense is used for, work through the slides in the PowerPoint one by one. Students will first learn how to form the present perfect tense using the structure the subject + have/has + past participle. Next, students will learn about the past participle so they understand the correct verb form to use in present perfect sentences. They will then see many example sentences before completing the short review quiz at the end to check their understanding. Once the PowerPoint lesson is complete, you can give students more practice with these Present Perfect Tense Worksheets or review the lesson with some fun Present Perfect Games.